Giuliani added that he felt “sorry” for Cohen, saying that his cooperation with Mueller was a “sad” attempt to avoid jail time.

Federal prosecutors on Friday recommended Cohen receive “substantial” prison time for several federal crimes, including campaign finance law violations related to payments they said Cohen made to silence Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, two women claiming they had affairs with Trump, before the 2016 presidential election.

The document does not specifically name Trump, but refers to an "Individual-1," an apparent reference to Trump. Cohen previously implicated Trump, without naming him directly, when he pleaded guilty in August to violating campaign finance laws in relation to the payments.

Mueller, in a separate filing, said the onetime Trump loyalist had gone to “significant lengths” to assist his investigation into possible collusion between Moscow and the Trump campaign in 2016.

Mueller's memo states that Cohen has shared information about his contacts with Russians during the 2016 election, including outreach he received from a Russian national in November 2015 purporting to be a “trusted person” within the Kremlin offering “political synergy” and “synergy on a government level.”

The individual proposed a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and “Individual-1." Cohen pleaded guilty last week to making false statements to Congress in connection with Mueller’s investigation.

He is set to be sentenced on Dec. 12 for eight federal crimes he pleaded guilty to in August, as well as the separate charge of lying to Congress.